Reasons 32 - 206

Okay, so our first 'full' day was pretty awesome. We rode from my aunt and uncle's acreage into Spruce Grove to Starbucks. We had our first random stranger come up to us to ask us about our tour. Several people stopped to admire our bikes. That was nice.

Then we hit the road. The weather was pretty great and our spirits were high. We rolled into Entwhistle around 8pm. We wandered around a little bit and then took our chances knocking on someone's door. We politely introduced ourselves and our tour, then asked if we could possibly pitch our tents on their front lawn and possibly use their restroom. The woman kind of thought about it for half a second, then asked her husband, and told us no. She was nice about it, and suggested we go to the Pembina River Provincial Park to camp.

We took her up on this suggestion and it worked out great. Because we rode in so late the campground registration was closed and snuck in unnoticed. We were pretty excited to set up our tents. We were also really stoked for some nice hot showers, but alas they were coin operated and we didn't have the right change. So, we opted for hand-sanitizer, faux showers instead.

This is the little cookout hut we camped beside.

This morning we packed up and did a little bicycle maintenance. We added some pressure to our tires and cleaned and lubed our chains. Then, the open road once again.

Today was a bit of a struggle. The whole morning was really windy. And it was blasting us from the front and side, so we just could do anything but go slow and push through it.

Then a mini rain storm came. Good news, all our rain gear works! And, we definitely needed all of it, jackets, pants, gloves, booties to cover our shoes and covers for our panniers. It was pretty ridiculous, but we kept on truckin'.

And, now, we're safely in Edson, having ridden our first 100km fully loaded. SO CRAZY. It is mad work, folks. We are both carrying a little more than 60 pounds of gear on our bikes. So, pedalling that far is tough stuff. For real.

This is us, ravenous at McDonalds after such a nutso day. Hey, we earned it.